Koolatron Fun Cooler for our car

I mentioned recently that I had the privilege to host a CSN Stores giveaway on my other blog (which is still open!) and to write a review on this blog. Here is my review!

It was really tough, deciding how I wanted to spend my gift credit. I was toying with picking out a steam mop, a grill pan, or this Earth Pan (still researching this product). Ryan and I finally decided on a plug-in cooler for our car. We do a lot of traveling and keeping our food and drinks cold is ALWAYS an issue for us. (We're not McDonald's type people - although I know it would be much easier if we were!) We always stop at hotels last minute on our road trips, and it's a hassle if there isn't a fridge in the room. We are curious to see how the Koolatron Fun Cooler changes this aspect of our lives.

We purchased two different things to go with the cooler, which made the whole purchase more expensive. We decided it was important (for us) to also get the battery saver and adaptor. The battery saver allows you to keep the cooler plugged into the cigarette lighter while the car is turned off. It prevents the car battery from draining if you forget to unplug it. (As forgetful as I am, we knew I'd end up doing this at some point.) Personally, I feel like this is a feature that should be built into the original plug-in, but it's not. The adaptor (which I actually purchased from Amazon because I didn't see it on CSN) allows you to carry the cooler inside and plug it into the wall. (I've tested it out inside - it works.) This will hopefully be our answer for constantly worrying about ice on trips.

We read many reviews of different coolers. There are different sizes and price categories. This particular one is $86.95 on CSN. I looked to see if I could buy it at Wal-Mart, but they didn't appear to carry this particular size. We chose this model because it was the least expensive one we thought we could get away with for our size of family. We also chose it because it would fit comfortably behind the driver's seat, in front of Sissy's car seat. Overall, there seemed to be good reviews for this one. It is a lot of money when regular coolers are so inexpensive - but like I said, we were constantly worrying about our ice melting or having to re-freeze our cooler packs. And we do a lot of traveling so I think it will be worth it to us.

As usual for CSN, we received excellent customer service, and shipping was super speedy. We didn't think, based on what it said, that we would be receiving our package for a week or so. However, it only took a few days. (And Ryan adds that it was very well-packaged.) The same cooler appears to be two dollars cheaper on Target.com and Amazon BUT CSN offers free shipping. Purchasing it from CSN ends up being the best deal.

We tried it out today while we were out running errands. I put our drinks in it while we were driving around and while we were in the library. They stayed cold, even in the 100 degree heat. Now, I'm not sure how long you can leave it in the car turned off before it started to warm up. I know we could throw in a couple of ice packs if we were going to leave something in the hot car for awhile. We'll just have to experiment with it for awhile, and I'll let ya know how it goes. Thank you, CSN!

My $40 CSN giveaway is open until this Sunday night.

The only requirement is to leave a comment about a CSN item that is on your wishlist!